3 Easy Ways To Practice Mindfulness

Getting started in the practice of mindfulness means promoting a better quality of life. Succeeding, however, is not always easy, as we have to adapt this philosophy from ancestral roots to modern times. However, to succeed, we have multiple paths and strategies: we just have to find the one that best suits our needs, our daily life.

Admittedly, many people are attracted to mindfulness, but not because it is fashionable or because we have been told about it or because we find this word in almost every book, magazine or self-help article. It interests us and seduces us, because it invites us to conceive the mind as a mirror from which to appreciate the world in a wider, more intimate and lived way. A stimulating thing and, above all, useful.

Our daily life, however, drags us with its obligations, with its strict schedules and with our eyes always busy. We cannot reserve more than an hour a day to go to a center to learn mindfulness, we cannot take time away from our commitments and, therefore, we tell ourselves that dedicating ourselves to meditation is definitely not for us. 

Is a mistake. Mindfulness is now closer to us than ever and in the most diverse ways. There are those who dedicate themselves to it at home, following the directions of a book or even an online course. There are also those who do not conceive the idea of ​​remaining immobile, those who are unable to fit into the dynamics of a lesson together with other people; do not worry: it is possible to meditate while doing sports, while walking, etc.

As we see, mindfulness is always present, accessible to our mind …

Mindfulness in modern times, in times in motion

Times change, but the roots of our philosophy, our spirituality and that exceptional legacy of mindfulness not only remain, but are more necessary than ever. Well, given the current complexity of our train of life… How and in what way can we learn to develop a full consciousness? How to learn to meditate, to breathe and to get in touch with the “here and now”?

• Rohan Gunatillake is a creative who is revolutionizing the field of mindfulness from a concrete point of view:  conceiving meditation in a dynamic, active way, thanks to new technologies or through sport.

• This author explains to us how and in what way we have changed. Our needs are now more intense, our worlds are chaotic, but our learning channels are wider: the internet and new technologies bring us closer than ever to the field of personal growth  and also initiate us into the world of meditation.

• Rohan Gunatillake calls it “urban meditation”. Because, although it surprises us, the urban environment and our work and digital culture is what defines many of us today.  What need is there for a 10 day natural retreat to learn how to meditate? If this is not possible, we have our home, work and wonderful technologies capable of teaching us how to connect with our reality.

In this dynamic world, we are all part of the movement. However, we must not fall into error, because mindfulness is also a mobile practice: we must become magnificent receptors of the present moment, of all its wonderful nuances, its oscillations, its changes, its smells, tastes, its sensations …

Ways to initiate mindfulness

Daniel Goleman had already said,  attention is a muscle that we must train every day  to be more receptive to what surrounds us, as well as to what happens inside us. However… how can we do it if we barely have time? Can we really learn to meditate by attending a lesson once a week from 6 to 7 pm?

Well, there will be people who will certainly succeed, but many go to these classes out of curiosity and end up giving up a few days later, because they don’t see results, because they can’t control their erratic mind and find that perfect point of balance. with themselves where everything else remains in the background.

If this practice of Buddhist origin with more than 2,500 years of antiquity has reached the West, it was no coincidence; it happened because scholars like Dr. Kabat-Zin – among many – know and understand that our unsatisfactory and demanding society accelerates us and, therefore, we need the help and benefits of mindfulness. To get started in this practice, we have multiple options, ways and paths available.